


You're a Superstar

by boychickenboy



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, Karaoke AU, M/M, Ryan is enamored, Shane has a great singing voice, gay bar au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 01:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boychickenboy/pseuds/boychickenboy
Summary: Ryan is nervous during his first visit to a gay bar, but a mysterious stranger with a beautiful voice catches his eye and makes his night.





	You're a Superstar

**Author's Note:**

> ANOTHER ONE ANOTHER ONE!!!!
> 
> This fic is inspired by my local hole-in-the-wall gay bar that has karaoke on Tuesdays and who influenced every single background character in this fic.
> 
> I love Jen and I feel bad for third-wheeling her out of this fic but I wanted to make boys kiss so :\
> 
> If you wanna send me shyan prompts you can totally do that on my tumblr, boychickenboy.tumblr.com!! I love prompts and I love people talking to me about shyan and what they thought of my fics!!!!
> 
> Also inspired by and title from Gay Bar by Electric Six

It was a tuesday night.

 

Perhaps not the best day to be three beers down at thirty minutes into midnight but honestly… Ryan was having fun.

 

The beer in his hand was a little bit fruity and shockingly affordable and the few patrons that inhabited the bar seemed to be regulars. They had a jovial demeanor with one another and when he took a look around he noticed people buying shots for each other, the bartender sneaking a pull from a top shelf whisky bottle, arms slung around shoulders and sloppy kisses being planted on cheeks. He grinned into the mouth of his bottle and Jen, who sat beside him, laughed at a particularly inebriated pair who began to rock back and forth together, singing badly and much too loud.

 

“ _Okay, boys, if you’re going to be singin’, get yerself up on that stage and put on a goddamn show._ ” A voice cut the two men off and they shook their fists good naturedly towards the booth in the corner where an older gentleman holding a microphone sat on a wobbly stool, tumbler in his hand and a rosy hue to his cheeks.

 

Besides being an odd tuesday night out, it also happened to be karaoke night at this particular bar. Ryan thought that this was a strange night to have a karaoke event, but there were people there and already a few regulars had stepped up on stage to present honestly breathtaking performances. The MC had made quips about their usual performances, about how Rachel was a little off key and a lot off her rocker, how Eric had pipes and knew how to use ‘em, things like that. Every so often the MC would hobble on stage and perform a crooning Johnny Cash original, all sad eyes and double fisted microphones.

 

Ryan and Jen were thoroughly enjoying the show so much that he had almost forgotten about the fact that this was a gay bar. Not like he would have been upset if Jen had told him before they walked through the door, it was just that he liked to be prepared before he waded through these tricky waters.

 

Jen was one of the few people who knew he was bi. She was desperately trying to integrate him into queer culture and oftentimes her excitement pushed Ryan’s comfort level a hair too far. Usually their hang-out nights were spent watching Queer Eye or documentaries about Stonewall and while he enjoyed spending time with Jen, it all just felt like a lot. He had only just begun to get used to the idea that he might also find boys attractive, and when he walked through those bar doors only to be greeted by flashing, rainbow neon lights and signs boasting far too forward sexual jokes for Ryan’s taste he got a little overwhelmed.

 

But now… it was kind of nice. The atmosphere and the community begun to seep into his bones and he found himself genuinely enjoying listening to the banter of the patrons and the surprisingly great voices singing songs he had forgotten how much he liked.

 

A young woman in a plaid shirt and long brown hair tied at the nape of her neck walked up to the MC and whispered something in his ear. He chuckled merrily into the microphone and tapped something into the laptop on the table in front of him.

 

“ _Well, folks, here is our merry Mary coming back for her second performance of the night! If all you old queens don’t sing along to this then I’m quitting my job tonight._ ”

 

“You wouldn’t dare!” A voice from the bar shouted.

 

“You love us too goddamn much, Tom!” Another said.

 

The MC laughed again, “ _You got me there. But mark my words, silence will be met with severe corporal punishment._ ”

 

There were a few whoops and hollers from the bar and Ryan was just buzzed enough to join in.

 

Mary stepped up on the stage and, immediately, the unmistakable first notes of _Come On Eileen_ by Dexy’s Midnight Runners started playing through the speakers on stage. Without hesitation, the bar began to cheer.

 

Mary put on a wonderful performance, clapping along as best she could while holding a mic during the interludes. When Ryan twisted around to take a look at the eruption of sing-alongs and drunken dancing behind him, he noticed the patio door open and a very tall man slip through the door - having to duck a little under the door frame - with a beer in hand. The small bar recieved a small gust of cigarette flavored air and the man settled in close to the wall, grinning from ear to ear and Ryan noticed that he began to sing along as well.

 

After looking for too-long, Ryan turned back around to face the stage, feeling a little fuzzy inside. Towards the end of the song, he noticed the tall man lumber over to the MCs station and whisper something to him. The MC looked delighted and nodded and the tall man slunk back to his spot on the wall, smiling even wider.

 

As Mary and the rest of the bar patrons finished the song with a long note and an eruption of cheers, Mary took a bow and hopped off the stage, receiving a glass of some mixed drink from an older man wearing a tight t-shirt with a rainbow on it.

 

“ _And now, for the first time in much too long, we are to be blessed by the vocal artistry of our very own, young Madej!_ ”

 

There was a surprising amount of applause and cheers and the tall man - Madej? - humbly ducked his head as he made his way to the stage. Ryan watched as he knocked back his beer and set the empty bottle on top of one of the speakers.

 

Jen leaned over and elbowed Ryan in the ribs.

 

“He’s cute, right?” She asked, smiling knowingly at him. Ryan made a face at her but then his eyes slid back to the stage. “I guess, if you’re into spider monkeys.” He replied and she snorted a laugh, but he was too distracted to join in as he watched the man clear his throat and wrap his hand confidently around the microphone. Ryan stared at the man’s long fingers where they contracted and gripped with surety.

 

Gentle, jazzy instruments began to play through the speakers and Madej shifted a little, holding out a hand dramatically before he began to sing.

 

“ _Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away!_ ”

 

The bar seemed quieter, but not because they weren’t enjoying it. It seemed to be in reverence and it made sense. Madej’s voice was like a smooth whisky, soft and sultry and yet somehow so unbelievably strong. Ryan’s throat felt suddenly dry and when he looked over at Jen for a split moment she, too, seemed a little starstruck.

 

“ _Weather wise, it's such a lovely day_

_Just say the words and we'll beat the birds down to Acapulco Bay_

_It's perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say_

_Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away!_ ”

 

Madej held his last note, voice reverberating throughout the bar and it made the whole place feel so expansive and yet so small all at once and Ryan’s breath caught in his chest and he couldn’t stop watching, even when the instruments crescendoed and the song ended and Madej bowed to the eruption of applause.

 

Hopping off the stage, Madej was greeted by a flurry of older men who praised him repeatedly, offering to buy him drinks and after a moment, he had a glass of some whisky drink in his hand and had escaped out into the patio once again.

 

“ _Well, thank you, baby, we all needed a little bit of that sweet honey tonight, I think. Not that I can follow that, but here goes nothin’!_ ”

 

The MC climbed on stage and the bar seemed to settle a little. Jen jabbed him in the ribs again and Ryan looked over at her, his face clearly startled.

 

“Dude… go talk to him.” She said cheekily. Ryan could feel himself blushing as he looked back out at the patio.

 

“What? I don’t… I don’t even know what I would say.” He said and his voice was rushed, as if he was out of breath. She laughed and took a sip from her drink.

 

“What would you say to a girl to chat her up? I dunno, compliment his singing, ask him about the bar, tell him you wanna bang!”

 

Ryan spluttered a little, but he did begin standing.

 

“I’m just going to tell him he did a good job.” He said firmly and Jen snickered as he went to retrieve another beer and step out onto the patio, taking a few hearty swigs of it before going to look for Madej again.

 

When he spotted him, the man was holding a cigarette precariously between his lips and was trying to light it despite the slight wind blowing out his lighter every couple of seconds. Ryan took in a deep breath and walked over to the man with a confidence that he barely felt and, without saying a word, lifted a hand to help block the wind.

 

Madej looked up at him in surprise and then his face softened and he nodded his thanks, going back and successfully lighting the end of his cigarette, taking in a deep inhale and blowing out a cloud of smoke.

 

“Thanks.” He said with a sweet smile. Ryan instantly got nervous again and he just ducked his head, taking a sip from his beer. After a moment of awkward silence he cleared his throat.

 

“You did good. That was… a sweet song.”

 

Madej laughed and thanked him quietly, as if he didn’t necessarily want to accept the compliment. “It’s one of my favorite Sinatra pieces. He did so many flying-related songs, but this one is good. _Fly Me To the Moon_ is overplayed.”

 

Ryan snorted, rolling his eyes. “Oh yeah, definitely Top 100’s. Getting tired of it on the radio all the time.”

 

A surprised laugh pulled itself from Madej and Ryan’s stomach warmed.

 

“Not as bad as _Come On Eileen_.” He said with a snarky tip of his glass. Ryan snorted, his shoulders bouncing with contained laughter.

 

After a moment, a hand came into his periphery.

 

“Shane,” the man said, a smile on his face. Ryan took the hand and shook it, not missing the way the fingers lingered on his palm for a moment. “Ryan,” he introduced.

 

They stood there for a moment in silence before Shane spoke.

 

“I haven’t seen you here before. You being a good straight ally to your friend in there?”

 

Something in Ryan sparked at the thought that Shane had noticed him, and paid attention. He rolled his eyes again and huffed. “Uh, no. I mean, yeah obviously I want to be an ally to her, but-” and he paused because he hadn’t said the words out loud that many times. Only a few when he officially came out to some of his friends. He had never told a stranger.

 

But he was in a gay bar, so _ce la vie_.

 

“I’m bisexual.” He said in a breath and Shane’s eyebrows rose in surprise and then a small smile crept onto his lips.

 

“You’re a little baby gay, huh?” He asked and Ryan chuckled, shrugging lightly. “I mean, I guess? I’ve known for a while but this is my first time at a- this is my first time doing something like this.”

 

Shane clucked his tongue, taking a swig of his drink and then a drag of his cigarette and Ryan was never very into the idea of smoking, but the way Shane’s neck stretched and tightened and his lips closed around the end of the cigarette made it look all too appealing.

 

“Well, this is a good place to start.” Shane said after a moment. “These are good people. A little horny, a little rowdy, but they’re big softies at heart.”

 

He eyed Ryan and it took a second to realize that Shane was _checking him out_.

 

“You should come on a weekend. Shit gets wild here. Karaoke again on Friday, dollar jello shots, and everyone buys you drinks.” He lifted his glass as if to prove it.

 

Ryan hid his blushing face behind his beer bottle and when he looked up, Shane had shifted slightly closer.

 

“Maybe I can meet you here one of these days. You wouldn’t have to wait for old queens to buy you a drink, I’ll just go ahead and do it. Out of the kindness of my heart.” He was grinning with an almost evil look in his eye and Ryan pushed past the rising of his blood pressure to reply, “Or we could just both get free drinks and not even bother with paying.” He said with a shrug. He had been trying for a joke but it came out more awkward than anything. He was subconsciously giving Shane a way out, a way to stop this from getting flirty. Shane just shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette before crowding into Ryan’s space even more.

 

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” He said and it sounded like a warning.

 

Ryan felt a shiver run down his spine and he looked up at Shane, suddenly feeling the confidence of the several bottles of beer he had consumed.

 

“Or, maybe you can give me your number and we can try dinner first?”

 

Shane looked surprised, stepping back a bit and taking another drag. He glanced out at the tall fence surrounding the patio as if considering something. Ryan was sure he had blown it. Dudes at gay bars don’t want to go on _dates_ . They want to _hook up_ , find someone with a pulse to fuck them for a night and then never speak to them again. The “forget it,” was at the tip of Ryan’s tongue just as Shane’s face softened and he looked back at Ryan.

 

“Y’know, I think I’d like that.”

 

Suddenly the predatory nature of his expression and the way he had been looming over Ryan had completely disappeared. He had a goofy look on his face as he dug his phone out of his back pocket and handed it over to Ryan, already open and waiting for a number. When Ryan gave it back, Shane typed furiously for a moment and then Ryan felt a vibration in his pocket. “I sent you a text so that you have my number.” Shane said simply, though his smile was devious.

 

Ryan stayed outside for a long time, receiving a text from Jen that she’d had a really good conversation with Mary and had since left and a genuine message of encouragement. Smirking, Ryan tucked his phone away.

 

Shane was on his third or forth cigarette and their conversation had grown quiet when Shane spoke up again.

 

“You surprised me.” He said with a flash of teeth. Ryan lifted an eyebrow, prompting Shane to continue.

 

“I saw you and, I mean, you’re definitely cute but I really didn’t expect you to be the date type. A frat boy, newly-out bisexual, hanging out at a gay bar for the first time? I mean everything about that _screams_ ‘looking for my first gay experience’.” Shane said with laughter in his voice. Somehow, it didn’t upset Ryan to be called a frat boy, or have someone stereotype him like that, because all that his mind could focus on is that Shane called him ‘cute’.

 

“Uh, I mean technically I am looking for my first gay experience I just… didn’t want it to be… _that_.” He frowned and looked away. His beer had been long finished and he didn’t want to leave to get another one but that meant that he didn’t have anything to nervously sip or hide his blushing face behind. He was surprised when Shane reached out and placed a sure hand on Ryan’s shoulder, fingers spidering out and brushing against his neck. He shivered.

 

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever fucking heard.” Shane said and while it sounded mocking, when Ryan looked at him, the edges of Shane’s eyes were crinkled and he looked almost _fond_.

 

Ryan shrugged and brought his beer bottle to his lips anyway, despite it being empty.

 

“Yeah, well, just because I like guys doesn’t mean I’m gonna immediately start cruising and download Grindr. I still like… the romance of it all, I guess.”

 

When he looked over, again Shane was looking at him jarringly sweetly. “Do I detect a hint of judginess?” He asked, causing Ryan to sputter, trying desperately to backpedal. Shane just laughed at him, waving a hand.

 

“Here’s your first official lesson in gay culture: not all of us are sex crazed maniacs, _but_ ,” he held up a finger as he drained the last of his glass, “those of us who _are_ , are perfectly capable and consenting adults who shouldn’t be judged for the way they choose to live their gay little lives.” He punctuated this with a wink and a tap of his temple.

 

Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. Of course not every gay man was predatorily sexual, and if they were a little more promiscuous than others then that’s their business. He would never judge a woman who enjoyed having sex, why would it matter if a gay man did?

 

“I-- I mean yeah you’re right. I don’t know why I said it like that.” He hummed and only barely startled when Shane placed a soft hand on his thigh.

 

“That’s called internalized homophobia, my dear.”

 

Ryan’s pulse jumped at the pet name and he was about to propose something very bold to Shane, something along the lines of inviting him to Ryan’s house for a second lesson in gay culture, when the patio door opened. The bartender hung out of the door frame in a way that made his large-cut arm holes reveal a black tribal tattoo encircling his pierced nipple.

 

“C’mon, Legs, it’s last call. Bar closes in twenty minutes.”

 

With a groan, Shane (assumedly “Legs”) picked himself up off of the concrete step that he and Ryan had been perched on for the last forty five minutes. He offered a hand to Ryan.

 

“How about I buy you that drink now and you decide when I should pick you up for dinner?” He asked with a blinding smile. Ryan’s heart palpitated as he reached up to grip Shane’s hand and haul himself up. As soon as he was standing, he realized how close they were and was only slightly frustrated by how far he had to look up. Shane just chuckled at him, eyes straying towards his lips for a fraction of a second that made Ryan’s breath hitch. Shane began to lean down and Ryan could feel himself rising to meet him and was startled when the door opened again behind him.

 

“After you.” Shane said with a tone that sounded like he knew exactly what he was doing. Ryan huffed a laugh and ducked under his arm and back into the bar.

 

Shane ordered him another beer and one more whisky drink for himself and they watched the regulars slowly finish their drinks and dawdle out of the door. By the time two o’ clock rolled around, the bartender ushered them out, grumbling about pretty boys and their lack of time management.

 

The two stood on the porch of the bar, Ryan with his hands stuffed into his jack pockets and Shane with his arms crossed over his chest to deflect the cold.

 

“So…” Ryan started, rocking onto his heels. Shane just smiled and leaned forward to place a gentle and chaste kiss on Ryan’s cheek.

 

“Text me when I should pick you up for that date and I’ll be there. Whatever restaurant you want.”

 

Ryan could barely hear, much less think straight. He just grinned for a long moment before reaching up to wrap a hand around the back of Shane’s neck and pull him back for a proper kiss. Shane made a small noise of surprise before humming softly. They stood like that for a long several moments, Shane’s hands against Ryan’s cold cheeks and Ryan’s arms wrapped around Shane’s neck, moving sweetly against one another before finally separating.

 

“Save the rest for our date,” Shane said breathlessly against Ryan’s lips. Ryan laughed and kissed him one more time.

 

“Oh, I will.” He murmured before pulling away despite how desperately he wanted to kiss Shane again. With another joyous laugh, Shane brushed a hand along Ryan’s cheek before starting to walk down the street.

 

“Text me!” He called over his shoulder as he pulled a cigarette from the box in his pocket. Ryan grinned and waved after him. When he got out his phone, he finally checked the text that Shane had sent him. He laughed when he saw the simple message of ‘ _asl?’_. He entered Shane’s number into his phone and saved him as “Legs Madej” and tucked his phone back into his pocket, walking off towards wherever he’d left his car, feeling lighter than he had in a very long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! Thanks for reading!! Please leave a comment and/or a kudo if you liked it!! And send me messages and/or prompts on my tumblr, boychickenboy.tumblr.com!!! I love you thanks!


End file.
